The Hardcore Grinders Group's livestream, silent for a long time, quietly went live on the very day Li Zheng finished selecting the 100 players who would join the group.
The stream's popularity immediately soared, instantly crushing every other concurrent stream and taking first place on the forum's livestream rankings.
The spectators who had watched from behind their screens back then returned to watch.
Bullet comments declaring "My youth is back!" flooded the screen without pause.
"Bricklayer, you finally started streaming! Where the hell have you been for the past six months and more? You just stopped streaming without a word?"
"Apparently, their teammates' deaths hit the Hardcore Grinders Group hard. They didn't want to pass those feelings on to us, so they shut down the stream for over six months. Finally, the wait is over."
"Hasn't it been a year since they stopped streaming? Do you know how I survived? I wandered around other streams every day. Finally, I'm home."
"Holy shit, the new training camp on-screen looks pretty good. Snowy mountains all around, a spiritual barrier overhead, snow falling everywhere. It's like a fairyland."
Word of mouth alone-"The Hardcore Grinders Group is streaming"-sent traffic exploding the moment the stream began.
On-screen, a hundred newly selected players stood in the training camp's square.
Their clothing and equipment varied, but all were elite players Li Zheng had carefully selected.
Li Zheng stood at the front of the square, looking at the hundred new faces as he spoke casually. "Welcome to the Against the Tide Player Warband. From today onward, you're members of the Hardcore Grinders Group. For the next three days, get to know one another and try out the camp's facilities. Help yourselves to the canteen's spirit food, soak in the recovery room's medicinal baths as much as you like,